FAQ
Common Misperceptions
Because Freedom Ship is novel and complex, public misperceptions about it can arise. We feel it would be helpful to the general public and potential investors to know what the most common ones are. The following are answers to our most frequently received questions.
1. Misperception: The primary focus of the project is to build a big ship.
Facts: The primary focus of the project is to create a community that offers unique life-style opportunities. Freedom Ship would be the world's first mobile community. It would provide an international, cosmopolitan, full-spectrum, residential, commercial, and resort city that circles the globe once every three years. It would offer a wide array of novel opportunities for business ownership, travel, and daily living. The ship is as large as it is, simply because that is the minimum size required to make the community economically self-sustaining and a desirable and attractive place to live.
2. Misperception: The project is an attempt to create a new country.
Facts: As is the case for every sea vessel, Freedom Ship will be subject to international maritime law and the laws of the country whose flag it flies. It will operate under the same rules and regulations as a cruise ship. The Freedom Ship community will adhere strictly to established international legal principles. There is no intent to establish a new world-view or legal system in any manner or degree.
3. Misperception: The ship is a tax dodge.
Facts: The Freedom Ship community has not been conceived as a tax haven. While the community itself will levy no taxes, citizens of countries such as the USA would not realize any income tax savings by residing in or running businesses in the community, at least at the federal level, since American citizens are taxed on their worldwide income. USA citizens living abroad are given tax deductions, but not if they reside on a ship. Citizens of certain other countries may realize tax savings by residing in or running businesses in the Freedom Ship community, as they would by residing in or running businesses in any country outside their own. Nonetheless, that is not one of the reasons the project was conceived.
4. Misperception: Freedom Ship should be built in a shipyard.
Facts: The only commonality Freedom Ship has with a conventional ship is that it is a sea-going vessel. Designing and building Freedom Ship is not a typical marine engineering project. A conventional hull the dimensions of Freedom Ship would simply break apart. Even if this were not the case, a conventional hull would cost many times as much and would be significantly less safe and stable. Because of its size, Freedom Ship cannot be built in any existing shipyard. Nor would a shipyard have anything to offer. Freedom Ship is basically a flat-bottomed barge with a conventional high-rise built on top.
5. Misperception: The aircraft flight deck can accept 747 aircraft.
Facts: The largest aircraft this flight deck can accept are turboprop aircraft in the 38 to 40-passenger range. We have spent a lot of work investigating the safety and noise factors associated with this facet of the ship and we believe this can be done in a safe and quiet manner. The reason we incorporated this facility into the design of Freedom Ship is because helicopters are expensive to purchase and operate, they are limited to only a short operational range, they carry only a few passengers, and their overall safety factor is less than that of fixed wing aircraft. Fixed wing aircraft are economically and strategically more practical for our requirements. If we later determine there is some safety or noise factor we cannot overcome, then we will change the plans to eliminate the landing strips and replace them with helicopter pads and a large recreation facility for the residents.
If you have questions regarding our company and/or project, please send them to Info@FreedomShip.com